Electronic device

ABSTRACT

An electronic device according to the present invention includes at least one memory and at least one processor which function as: a recording control unit configured to perform control to start recording content including at least one of a moving image and sound in response to an operation of a first operating member or a second operating member; and a control unit configured to perform control to: record the content as content of a new group that differs from a group of content recorded immediately prior thereto in a case where recording of the content is started in response to receipt of an operation of the first operating member; and record the content as content of the same group as the content recorded immediately prior thereto in a case where recording of the content is started in response to receipt of an operation of the second operating member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/JP2019/048306, filed Dec. 10, 2019, which claims the benefit ofJapanese Patent Application No. 2018-241258, filed Dec. 25, 2018, andJapanese Patent Application No. 2018-241413, filed Dec. 25, 2018, whichare hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic device that handlescontent such as images, video, and sound.

Background Art

Typically, in a site where content (material) such as images, video, andsound is created, when a moving image that is not suitable as material,such as a speaking error during narration or a mistake during camerawork, is recorded, the image is recaptured, or in other words a “retake”is performed.

PTL 1 discloses a technique (a magnetic recording and playbackapparatus) for performing a retake in response to a retake command sothat a recorded moving image (a moving image recorded during a take (afirst image capture operation) or the like) is overwritten by a newmoving image. PTL 2 discloses a technique (an image capture apparatus)that allocates captured image data to the same group as image datacaptured immediately prior thereto.

Further, when editing content such as images, video, and sound,typically, a plurality of thumbnail images corresponding respectively toa plurality of pieces of content are arranged and displayed along asingle axis in the playback order of the content, whereupon thethumbnail images are moved, switched, added, deleted, and so on inresponse to user operations. This type of editing is known as “timelineediting” or the like.

PTL 3 discloses a technique (a moving image content editing apparatus)for arranging and displaying a plurality of content objects within athree-dimensional space in accordance with the time of each contentobject (the time at which the corresponding moving image was captured)and tag information (information relating to the content of the movingimage).

In the prior art, however, the content cannot be managed favorably, andtherefore user-friendliness is poor. For example, with the techniquedisclosed in PTL 1, retakes are performed so that a moving imagerecorded during a take is overwritten by a new moving image, making itimpossible to manage both the moving image recorded during the take andthe moving image recorded during the retake. With the techniquedisclosed in PTL 2, the current image capture operation is not limitedto a retake of the immediately preceding image capture operation, and inthis case, the captured image data should not be allocated to the samegroup as the image data captured immediately prior thereto. With thetechnique disclosed in PTL 3, the user cannot easily ascertain thecorrespondence relationship between the moving image recorded during thetake (the first image capture operation) and the moving image recordedduring the retake and so on simply by looking at the plurality ofdisplayed content objects. Hence, timeline editing is difficult.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

PTL 1 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-51292

PTL 2 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-298982

PTL 3 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-071813

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention records a plurality of content so that the contentis managed favorably, and displays images representing the contentfavorably so that user-friendliness is improved.

An electronic device according to the present invention includes atleast one memory and at least one processor which function as: arecording control unit configured to perform control to start recordingcontent including at least one of a moving image and sound in responseto an operation of a first operating member or a second operatingmember; and a control unit configured to perform control to: record thecontent as content of a new group that differs from a group of contentrecorded immediately prior thereto in a case where recording of thecontent is started in response to receipt of an operation of the firstoperating member; and record the content as content of the same group asthe content recorded immediately prior thereto in a case where recordingof the content is started in response to receipt of an operation of thesecond operating member.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device;

FIG. 2 is an external view of an electronic device (a smartphone);

FIG. 3 is an external view of an electronic device (a digital camera);

FIG. 4A shows an example of an image capture standby screen;

FIG. 4B shows an example of an editing screen:

FIGS. 4C to 4E show examples of timeline display;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of moving image capturing processing;

FIG. 6 is a partial flowchart of timeline editing processing;

FIG. 7 is a partial flowchart of the timeline editing processing;

FIGS. 8A and 8B show examples of timeline display;

FIG. 9A shows an example of the editing screen; and

FIG. 9B shows an example of a comparative playback screen.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below on thebasis of the figures. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exampleconfiguration of an electronic device 100 serving as an example of anapparatus to which the present invention can be applied. The electronicdevice 100 can be configured using a personal computer (PC hereafter) orthe like.

In FIG. 1, a CPU 101, a memory 102, a nonvolatile memory 103, an imageprocessing unit 104, a display 105, an operating unit 106, a recordingmedium I/F 107, an external I/F 109, a communication I/F 110, and acamera unit 112 are connected to an internal bus 150. The respectiveparts connected to the internal bus 150 are configured to be capable ofexchanging data with each other via the internal bus 150.

The CPU 101 includes one or a plurality of processors and/or at leastone circuit. The memory 102 is constituted by a RAM (a volatile memoryusing a semiconductor element or the like), for example. The CPU 101controls the respective parts of the electronic device 100 in accordancewith a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 103, for example, usingthe memory 102 as a work memory. The nonvolatile memory 103 stores imagedata, sound data, and other data, various programs used by the CPU 101to perform operations, and so on. The nonvolatile memory 103 isconstituted by a hard disk (HD), a ROM, or the like, for example.

The image processing unit 104 implements various types of imageprocessing on image data stored in the nonvolatile memory 103 or therecording medium 108, a video signal acquired via the external V/F 109,image data acquired via the communication I/F 110, a captured image, andthe like on the basis of the control of the CPU 101. The imageprocessing performed by the image processing unit 104 includes A/Dconversion processing, D/A conversion processing, image data encodingprocessing, compression processing, decoding processing,enlargement/reduction processing (resizing), noise reduction processing,color conversion processing, and so on. The image processing unit 104may be constituted by a dedicated circuit block for implementingspecific image processing. Further, depending on the type of imageprocessing, the image processing can also be implemented by the CPU 101in accordance with a program instead of using the image processing unit104.

The display 105 displays images, a GUI screen forming a GUI (GraphicalUser Interface), and the like on the basis of the control of the CPU101. The CPU 101 controls the respective parts of the electronic device100 to generate a display control signal in accordance with a program,generate a video signal to be displayed on the display 105, and outputthe video signal to the display 105. The display 105 displays a video onthe basis of the output video signal. Note that only an interface foroutputting the video signal to be displayed on the display 105 isrequired as a configuration provided in the electronic device 100itself, and the display 105 may be constituted by an external monitor (atelevision or the like).

The operating unit 106 is an input device for receiving user operations,and includes an alphanumeric character information input device such asa keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse or a touch panel, buttons,a dial, a joystick, a touch sensor, a touchpad, and so on. Note that atouch panel is an input device that is formed in planar form so as tooverlap the display 105 and outputs coordinate information correspondingto a contacted position thereon.

The recording medium I/F 107 is formed so that the recording medium 108,which is constituted by a memory card, a CD or a DVD, can be attachedthereto, and on the basis of the control of the CPU 101, the recordingmedium I/F 107 reads data from the attached recording medium 108 andwrites data to the recording medium 108. The external I/F 109 is aninterface that is connected to an external device by a wire cable orwirelessly in order to input and output video signals and sound signals.The communication I/F 110 is an interface that communicates with anexternal device, the Internet 111, or the like in order to transmit andreceive various data such as files and commands.

The camera unit 112 is a camera unit constituted by an imaging element(an image sensor) or the like, which is formed from a CCD, a CMOS, orthe like that converts an optical image into an electric signal. Thecamera unit 112 includes a lens group (an imaging lens) including a zoomlens and a focus lens, a shutter having an aperture function, an imagingelement, an A/D converter for converting an analog signal output fromthe imaging element into a digital signal, and a barrier that covers theimaging system to prevent soiling and damage. The image processing unit104 performs predetermined pixel interpolation, resizing processing.i.e., reduction, and color conversion processing on data captured andthus acquired by the camera unit 112. On the basis of calculationresults acquired by the image processing unit 104, the CPU 101 performsexposure control, distance measurement control, and AWB (auto w % bitebalance) processing. Display image data captured by the camera unit 112and image-processed by the image processing unit 104 are displayed bythe display 105. By converting digital signals captured by the cameraunit 112, converted by the A/D converter, and stored in the memory 102into analog signals using a D/A converter and then successivelytransferring the resulting analog signals to the display 105 in order tobe displayed thereon, live view display (LV display) can be performed. Alive view can be displayed in an image capture standby state for staticimages, an image capture standby state for moving images, and whilerecording a moving image, and a captured object image is displayedsubstantially in real time. The CPU 101 controls the camera unit 112 andthe image processing unit 104 so that operations for AF (auto focus)processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB processing, and soon are started in response to image capture preparation instructionsbased on user operations performed on the operating unit 106. Inresponse to an image capture instruction, the CPU 101 performs controlto start a series of image capture processing (main image capture)operations for reading a signal from the imaging element by performingmain exposure, generating an image file by performing image processingon the captured image using the image processing unit 104, and recordingthe result in the recording medium 108. The image capture instructioncan be issued by a user operation on the operating unit 106. The cameraunit 112 is capable of capturing both static images and moving images.

The electronic device 100 also includes a microphone (not shown) thatcollects sounds from a recorded moving image, voices recorded by a voicerecorder function, call voices occurring when a call function is used,and so on. The electronic device 100 further includes a speaker (notshown) that is used to emit playback sound by reproducing sounds from arecorded moving image file, voices from a voice file, and so on, and toemit the voice of a call destination during a call. The electronicdevice 100 further includes a sound output unit (not shown) foroutputting similar sounds to headphones or the like.

The operating unit 106 includes a touch panel 106 a. The CPU 101 iscapable of detecting the following operations or states input into thetouch panel 106 a.

-   -   A finger or a pen that has not yet touched the touch panel 106 a        newly touches the touch panel 106 a, or in other words, a touch        begins (referred to hereafter as a Touch-Down)    -   The finger or pen is in a state of touching the touch panel 106        a (referred to hereafter as a Touch-On)    -   The finger or pen is moved while still touching the touch panel        106 a (referred to hereafter as a Touch-Move)    -   The finger or pen touching the touch panel 106 a is removed from        the touch panel 106 a, or in other words, the touch ends        (referred to hereafter as a Touch-Up)    -   Nothing touches the touch panel 106 a (referred to hereafter as        a Touch-Off)

When a Touch-Down is detected, a Touch-On is detected at the same time.Normally, following a Touch-Down, a Touch-On is detected continuouslyuntil a Touch-Up is detected. Likewise when Touch-Move is detected, aTouch-On is detected at the same time. Even when a Touch-On is detected,a Touch-Move is not detected unless the touch position moves. When it isdetected that all touching fingers and pens have performed a Touch-Up, aTouch-Off is detected.

The CPU 101 is notified of these operations and states, as well as thecoordinates of the position in which the finger or pen is touching thetouch panel 106 a, via the internal bus, and on the basis of thenotified information, the CPU 101 determines the nature of the operation(the touch operation) being performed on the touch panel 106 a. Withregard to a Touch-Move, the movement direction in which the finger orpen moves over the touch panel 106 a can be determined for each verticalcomponent and each horizontal component on the touch panel 106 a on thebasis of variation in the position coordinates. When a Touch-Move of atleast a predetermined distance is detected, it is determined that asliding operation has been performed. An operation in which a finger ismoved quickly by a certain distance while touching the touch panel 106 aand then lifted away from the touch panel 106 a is known as a flick. Inother words, a flick is an operation for quickly stroking the touchpanel 106 a with a finger in a flicking motion. When a Touch-Move of atleast a predetermined distance and at least a predetermined speed isdetected and a Touch-Up is detected immediately thereafter, it can bedetermined that a flick has been performed (it can be determined that aflick has been performed following a sliding operation). Further, atouch operation in which a plurality of locations (two points, forexample) are touched simultaneously and the touch positions are broughtcloser together is known as a pinch-in, while a touch operation in whichthe touch positions are moved away from each other is known as apinch-out. A pinch-in and a pinch-out are referred to collectively as apinching operation (or simply as a pinch).

The touch panel 106 a may use any of various systems, such as aresistive film system, an electrostatic capacitance system, a displayacoustic wave system, an infrared system, an electromagnetic inductionsystem, an image recognition system, or an optical sensor system. Eithera system that detects contact with the touch panel as a touch or asystem that detects the approach of a finger or a pen toward the touchpanel as a touch may be used.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are external views of the electronic device 100. FIG. 2shows an example of a case in which a smartphone is used as theelectronic device 100, and FIG. 3 shows an example of a case in whichthe electronic device 100 is a digital camera specialized forself-photography in which the photographer (or operator) photographshim/herself. Note that internal block diagrams in both of these casesare similar to FIG. 1, and therefore description of the internal blockdiagrams has been omitted.

The electronic device 100 (the smartphone) of FIG. 2 includes, as partsof the operating unit 106, a power supply button 106 b and a home button106 c. The power supply button 106 b is a button for switching a powersupply of the electronic device 100 ON/OFF. The home button 106 c is abutton for switching to a list screen (a home screen) listingapplication software that can be activated.

The camera unit 112 is provided in an upper portion of the electronicdevice 100 (the digital camera) of FIG. 3. The camera unit 112 iscoupled to a main body portion by a hinge portion 130 so that the cameraunit 112 can be rotated freely using the hinge portion 130 as a centralaxis. An appropriate degree of frictional force is set to act duringrotation so that the user can rotate the camera unit 112 to and fix thecamera unit 112 in a desired orientation. The image capture orientation(the image capture direction) of the camera unit 112 can thus be set ina facing orientation (the illustrated orientation) in which thephotographer holding the electronic device 100 can photographhim/herself as an object. The image capture direction can also be set inthe opposite orientation to the facing orientation, for example theopposite direction to the direction of the photographer as seen from theelectronic device 100. In this embodiment, the electronic device 100 isassumed to include the touch panel 106 a that is capable of detectingtouch operations on the display 105, but a digital camera such as thatshown in FIG. 3 does not have to include the touch panel 106 a.

The power supply button 106 b and the home button 106 c of FIG. 3 havesimilar functions to the functions illustrated in FIG. 2. A menu button106 d is a hard key having a similar function to a menu button 406 (atouch button) to be described below. A touchpad 106 e is a touch sensorthat is capable of detecting various touch operations on an operatingsurface of the touchpad 106 e, similarly to the touch panel 106 a.Similar processing to that of touch operations performed on a touchpadarea 402, to be described below, is performed in response to touchoperations on the touchpad 106 e. The operating surface of the touchpad106 e is disposed in a different position to the display surface of thedisplay 105 and does not have a display function. A take key 106 f is ahard key having a similar function to a take key 404 (a touch button) tobe described below. A retake key 106 g is a hard key having a similarfunction to a retake key 405 (a touch button) to be described below. Agrip portion 131 is a grip portion by which the electronic device 100can be held with one hand, and the grip portion 131 is formed from arubber material, a sponge material, or the like in order to improve theholding force.

In FIG. 3, when the user (the photographer) holds the grip portion 131with one hand, the user can operate the take key 106 f, the retake key106 g, and the touchpad 106 e with the thumb of the hand holding thegrip portion 131. Hence, the user can perform various image captureoperations to be described below while holding the electronic device 100(the digital camera) with one hand, holding an object to be photographedor the like with the other hand, and using the object held in the otherhand and him/herself as the object. Furthermore, the user can operatethe take key 106 f, the retake key 106 g, the touchpad 106 e, and so onsmoothly, without switching the hand holding the electronic device 100.Note that the touchpad 106 e and so on may be disposed in any positionallowing operation thereof by the fingers used to operate the take key106 f and the retake key 106 g. Moreover, the grip portion 131 does nothave to be held in the hand, and operations may be performed by a fingerrather than by the thumb.

Moreover, in FIG. 3, the take key 106 f and the retake key 106 g aredisposed further away than the display 105 when seen from acquisitionunits such as the camera unit 112 and the microphone (not shown). Thus,situations in which the finger operating the take key 106 f or theretake key 106 g catches on the camera unit 112 or the microphone,thereby obstructing image capture or sound collection, or catches on thedisplay 105, thereby obstructing viewing of a display screen on thedisplay 105, can be suppressed. In this embodiment, image capture andsound collection instructions are issued using the take key 106 f andthe retake key 106 g, and during image capture and sound collection,live view display is performed on the display 105. Therefore, bydisposing the take key 106 f and the retake key 106 g further away thanthe display 105 when seen from the camera unit 112 and the microphone,the user can issue an instruction to capture a moving image favorablywhile comfortably checking the live view display. Furthermore, imagecapture and sound collection can be performed favorably without thefinger operating the take key 106 f or the retake key 106 g beingphotographed or sound generated by the finger being input.

A case in which a smartphone such as that of FIG. 2 is used as theelectronic device 100 will be described below, but similar processing tothe various types of processing described below can also be performed bya digital camera such as that of FIG. 3. In a case where a digitalcamera such as that of FIG. 3 is used as the electronic device 100, thetake key 404, the retake key 405, and the touchpad area 402, all ofwhich will be described below, may be read respectively as the take key106 f, the retake key 106 g, and the touchpad 106 e. Further, an LVdisplay area 401 and a timeline display area 420 to be described belowcan be set as the entire surface of the display 105.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show examples of various screens displayed on thedisplay 105 as a result of the processing of this embodiment in a casewhere a smartphone such as that of FIG. 2 is used as the electronicdevice 100. The screen on FIG. 4A is an image capture standby screendisplayed on the display 105 when moving image capture is performed. Forexample, the image capture standby screen of FIG. 4A is an initialscreen displayed on the display 105 immediately after an image captureapplication is activated. FIG. 4B is a screen on which to performtimeline display of a plurality of captured moving images and an editingscreen that is displayed on the display 105 when performing timelineediting on the plurality of moving images. For example, the editingscreen of FIG. 4B is displayed on the display 105 immediately aftermoving image capture is complete. Furthermore, the screen displayed onthe display 105 switches to the editing screen of FIG. 4B in response toa user operation for starting timeline editing even when moving imagecapture is not performed. FIGS. 4C and 4D are enlarged views of timelinedisplays generated on the editing screen of FIG. 4B. Details of therespective screens and so on will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of moving image capturingprocessing performed by the electronic device 100. This processing isrealized by the CPU 101 by expanding a program recorded in thenonvolatile memory 103 in the memory 102 and executing the program. Whenthe electronic device 100 is activated and an image capture applicationcorresponding to this embodiment is activated, the processing of FIG. 5begins. Note that in a case where a digital camera such as that of FIG.3 is used as the electronic device 100, the processing of FIG. 5 beginswhen a moving image capture mode is set or the electronic device 100 isactivated in the moving image capture mode. The moving image capturemode may be, but does not have to be, set automatically when theelectronic device 100 (the digital camera) is activated. The previousoperating mode may be set automatically when the electronic device 100is activated.

In S501, the CPU 101 starts live view image capture using the cameraunit 112 and displays the image capture standby screen of FIG. 4A on thedisplay 105. On the image capture standby screen of FIG. 4A, the LVdisplay area 401 is an area in which live view display (LV display) isperformed. The touchpad area 402 is an area in which to manipulate adisplay item (a focus frame 403 or the like, for example) superimposedon the LV display area 401 without directly touching the LV display area401. The take key 404, the retake key 405, the menu button 406, and aplay button 407 are displayed on the image capture standby screen ofFIG. 4A.

The take key 404 is a touch button that is operated in order to start afirst image capture operation (a take) of a single scene or the like.Hence, in this embodiment, when moving image capture (recording) isstarted in response to the receipt of a touch operation on the take key404, the moving image is captured as a moving image of a new group thatdiffers from that of the moving image captured immediately priorthereto. Thus, a plurality of moving images belonging to differentgroups can be recognized as a plurality of moving images of differentscenes. The retake key 405, meanwhile, is a touch button that isoperated in order to start recapturing a moving image (a retake) or thelike. The retake is highly likely to involve recapturing a moving imageof the same scene as the moving image captured immediately priorthereto. In this embodiment, therefore, when moving image capture isstarted in response to the receipt of a touch operation on the retakekey 405, the moving image is captured as a moving image of the samegroup as the moving image captured immediately prior thereto. Thus, aplurality of moving images belonging to the same group can be recognizedas a plurality of moving images of the same scene. Moreover, by usingthe take key 404 and the retake key 405, the user can perform operationsto quickly switch between a take and a retake. The menu button 406 andthe play button 407 will be described below.

In S502, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the take key 404 has beenoperated (touched). When it is determined that the take key 404 has beenoperated, the processing advances to S503, and when the take key 404 hasnot been operated, the processing advances to S512.

In S503, the CPU 101 generates a new group ID. The group ID isidentification information indicating the corresponding group. In S504,the CPU 101 captures (records) a moving image using the camera unit 112,generates a new moving image file, and records the new moving image filein the recording medium 108 as a moving image file (recording control).The new group ID generated in S503 is recorded in the generated movingimage file as attribute information. More specifically, for example, thegroup ID is set as a part of the file name of the moving image file orrecorded in metadata of the moving image file. In S505, the CPU 101determines whether or not the take key 404 has been operated again. Whenit is determined that the take key 404 has been operated again, theprocessing advances to S506, and when the take key 404 has not beenoperated again, the processing advances to S504, where moving imagecapture is continued. In S506, the CPU 101 stops recording the movingimage file and performs closing processing in relation to the movingimage file to which the group ID generated in S503 is attached. As aresult, a moving image lasting from the point at which the take key 404was operated in S502 to the point at which the take key 404 was operatedagain in S505 is recorded in the recording medium 108 as a single movingimage file (data file). Further, a playlist recorded in the nonvolatilememory 103 is updated so that the identification information of therecorded moving image is recorded as the moving image at the tail end ofthe playback order of the playlist. Note that when a playlist does notexist, a new playlist is generated and the identification information isrecorded as the first moving image of the playback order.

Note that in this embodiment, the group ID is attached as the attributeinformation of the moving image file and the group of moving images ismanaged using the group ID, but the method for managing a group ofmoving images is not limited thereto. For example, managementinformation (a table or the like) that indicates a correspondencerelationship between the moving image (the file name, a file ID, or thelike) and the group (a group name, the group ID, or the like) and isindependent of the moving image may be recorded/updated, and the groupof moving images may be managed using this management information.Further, moving images may be recorded in a separate folder for eachgroup, and the group of moving images may be managed using the folder inwhich the moving images are recorded. The CPU 101 may perform only oneof a plurality of types of control for implementing the plurality ofmanagement methods described above, or may perform two or more of theplurality of types of control.

In S507, the CPU 101 switches the display screen on the display 105 tothe editing screen of FIG. 4B in order to perform timeline display onthe display 105. On the editing screen of FIG. 4B, the timeline displayarea 420 is the area in which timeline display is performed. In S507,timeline display shown in FIG. 4C, for example, is performed in thetimeline display area 420. By performing timeline display automaticallyafter capturing (recording) a moving image, the user can check themoving images captured up to that point, issue instructions to capturemoving images for all of the scenes without forgetting any, and easilyperform planning (plan making) relating to moving image capture. Notethat when moving image capture is to be performed again, the displayscreen of the display 105 is switched to the image capture standbyscreen without performing timeline display (i.e., by performing LVdisplay) so that the user can easily check the object on the display105.

As shown in FIG. 4C, during timeline display, a plurality of imagesequences (sequences 431-435) corresponding respectively to a pluralityof groups are displayed side by side along a single axis (referred tohereafter as the “time axis”; in this embodiment, a horizontal axis)using a timeline (a main line) 421. The CPU 101 displays selectedimages, each representing one moving image included in the groupcorresponding to each sequence, in a plurality of sections on thetimeline 421. The CPU 101 also displays unselected images representingmoving images other than the moving image of the selected image, amongthe plurality of moving images, in the form of columns along aperpendicular axis (referred to hereafter as the “take axis”; in thisembodiment, a vertical axis) to the time axis so as to be associatedwith the sections (the sections on the timeline 421) in which theselected images of the respective groups are displayed. In thisembodiment, thumbnail images of the moving images are displayed as theselected images and unselected images. Furthermore, the CPU 101 displaysone of the plurality of thumbnail images in an emphasized fashion usinga selection frame 422. The role of the selection frame 422 will bedescribed below. Note that the dotted lines in FIG. 4C are shown forconvenience in order to indicate the columns and are not displayed.

Hence, during timeline display according to this embodiment, pluralitiesof thumbnail images respectively representing pluralities of movingimages belonging to different groups and pluralities of thumbnail imagesrespectively representing pluralities of moving images belonging toidentical groups are displayed in different display directions.According to this timeline display, the user can easily ascertain thecorrespondence relationships between the groups (the scenes) and themoving images. As a result, the user can perform timeline editing, suchas selecting, moving, switching, adding, and deleting thumbnail images,easily and favorably.

Furthermore, although there are no particular limitations on thearrangement of the plurality of thumbnail images (the selected image andthe unselected images) in the same column, in this embodiment, the CPU101 displays the plurality of thumbnail images of the same column sothat the images are arranged in the order in which the correspondingplurality of moving images were recorded. According to this timelinedisplay, the user can easily ascertain correspondence relationshipsbetween moving images recorded during takes and moving images recordedduring retakes and so on for each scene. Typically, the thumbnail imagesrepresenting the plurality of moving images in the same group are highlylikely to be similar. In other words, it is difficult for the user todistinguish differences between the moving images using only thethumbnail images as clues. By arranging the plurality of thumbnailimages of the same column (group) in the order in which the movingimages were recorded, the user can ascertain the order in which eachmoving image was recorded simply by checking the position in which thethumbnail image is arranged. In other words, the user can easilydistinguish between the plurality of moving images in the same group.

The description will now return to FIG. 5. In S508, the CPU 101determines whether or not the take key 404 or the retake key 405 hasbeen operated (touched). When it is determined that the take key 404 orthe retake key 405 has been operated, the processing advances to S501,and when the take key 404 or the retake key 405 has not been operated,the processing advances to S509. In S509, the CPU 101 determines whetheror not the timeline display area 420 has been operated (touched). Whenit is determined that the timeline display area 420 has been operated,the processing advances to S510, and when the timeline display area 420has not been operated, the processing advances to S511. In S510, the CPU101 performs timeline editing processing. The timeline editingprocessing will be described below using FIG. 6. In S511, the CPU 101determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed following thestart of timeline display in S507. When it is determined that thepredetermined time has elapsed, the processing advances to S501, andwhen the predetermined time has not elapsed, the processing advances toS508. Hence, when a predetermined time elapses without any operationsbeing performed following the start of timeline display, the displayscreen of the display 105 is switched from the editing screen of FIG. 4Bto the image capture standby screen of FIG. 4A.

In S512, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the retake key 405 hasbeen operated. When it is determined that the retake key 405 has beenoperated, the processing advances to S513, and when the retake key 405has not been operated, the processing advances to S518.

In S513, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a retake target fileexists in the recording medium 108. A retake target file is the movingimage file recorded immediately before, for example. A retake targetfile may be the moving image file recorded during the current movingimage capture processing (FIG. 5) or a moving image file recorded duringpast moving image capture processing. When it is determined that aretake target file exists, the processing advances to S514, and when aretake target file does not exist, the processing advances to S503.Accordingly, when a retake target file does not exist, a moving image ofa new group is captured in response to an operation of the retake key405.

In S514, the CPU 101 acquires the group ID attached to the retake targetfile. In S515, the CPU 101 captures (records) a moving image using thecamera unit 112. In S516, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the takekey 404 or the retake key 405 has been operated. When it is determinedthat the take key 404 or the retake key 405 has been operated, theprocessing advances to S517, and when the take key 404 or the retake key405 has not been operated, the processing advances to S515, where movingimage capture is continued. In S517, the CPU 101 stops moving imagecapture and attaches the group ID (the group ID of the retake targetfile) acquired in S514 to the moving image (file closing processing).Here, by stopping moving image capture, a moving image lasting from thepoint at which the retake key 405 was operated in S512 to the point atwhich the take key 404 or the retake key 405 was operated in S516 isgenerated in the recording medium 108 as a single moving image file(data file). Further, on the playlist recorded in the nonvolatile memory103, the moving image in the arrangement position of the moving image ofthe used take in the retake target group is replaced with the identifierof the moving image subjected to closing processing in S517. In otherwords, the playlist is updated so that the moving image captured last inthe same group is set as the used take. The processing then advances toS507, where timeline display is performed.

In S518, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a touch operation hasbeen performed in the touchpad area 402. When it is determined that atouch operation has been performed in the touchpad area 402, theprocessing advances to S519, and when a touch operation has not beenperformed in the touchpad area 402, the processing advances to S520.

In S519, the CPU 101 moves, modifies, or otherwise manipulates displayitems (the focus frame 403 or the like, for example) superimposed on theLV display area 401 in accordance with the touch operation of S518 (thetouch operation on the touchpad area 402).

In S520, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the play button 407 hasbeen operated. When it is determined that the play button 407 has beenoperated, the processing advances to S521, and when the play button 407has not been operated, the processing advances to S523.

In S521, the CPU 101 switches the display screen of the display 105 tothe editing screen of FIG. 4B in order to perform timeline display onthe display 105. By starting timeline display in response to anoperation of the play button 407, the user can check the timelinedisplay at any desired timing. In S522, the CPU 101 performs timelineediting processing. The timeline editing processing will be describedbelow using FIG. 6.

In S523, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the moving image captureprocessing is complete. For example, the CPU 101 determines that themoving image capture processing is complete when an operation(depression of the power supply button 106 b or the like) for issuing aninstruction to switch the power supply of the electronic device 100 OFFor an operation (depression of the home button 106 c or the like) forissuing an instruction to terminate the image capture application isperformed. When it is determined that the moving image captureprocessing is complete, the moving image capture processing isterminated, and when the moving image capture processing is notcomplete, the processing advances to S501.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing an example of the timeline editingprocessing performed by the electronic device 100. This processing isrealized by the CPU 101 by expanding a program recorded in thenonvolatile memory 103 in the memory 102 and executing the program. Thetimeline editing processing is performed in S510 and S522 of FIG. 5.Note that the timeline editing processing may be performed using anediting application that differs from the image capture application thatperforms the processing of FIG. 5. In this case, the timeline editingprocessing begins when the electronic device 100 is activated and theediting application is activated. When a digital camera such as that ofFIG. 3 is used as the electronic device 100, the processing of FIGS. 6and 7 begins when an editing mode is set or the electronic device 100 isactivated in the editing mode. The editing mode may be, but does nothave to be, set automatically when the electronic device 100 (thedigital camera) is activated. The previous operating mode may be setautomatically when the electronic device 100 is activated.

In S601, the CPU 101 switches the display screen of the display 105 tothe editing screen of FIG. 4B in order to perform timeline display onthe display 105. Note that when timeline display is already underway,the processing of S601 is omitted. In S602, the CPU 101 determineswhether or not the play button 407 has been operated. When it isdetermined that the play button 407 has been operated, the processingadvances to S603, and when the play button 407 has not been operated,the processing advances to S607.

In S603, the CPU 101 plays back the moving image of the thumbnail imageselected by the selection frame 422 (FIG. 4C). In this embodiment, apredetermined direction (in FIG. 4C, either a direction heading fromleft to right or a direction heading from right to left) along thetimeline 421 (the time axis) is set as the playback order of theplurality of moving images in the different groups. In S604, the CPU 101determines whether or not a following selected image (a thumbnail imageon the timeline) exists in the playback order. When it is determinedthat a following selected image exists in the playback order, theprocessing advances to S605, and when a following selected image doesnot exist in the playback order, the processing advances to S606. InS605, the CPU 101 moves the selection frame 422 to the position of thefollowing selected image, whereupon the processing returns to S603. InS606, when the selection frame 422 has been moved in S605, the CPU 101returns the selection frame 422 to its original position (the positionof the selected image corresponding to the moving image played backfirst), whereupon the processing returns to S601. Note that byperforming a different operation to operation of the play button 407,the moving image of the thumbnail image selected by the selection frame422 may be played back alone.

In this embodiment, at the start of timeline display or the like, theCPU 101 reads the playlist indicating the playback order of theplurality of moving images respectively represented by the plurality ofselected images from the nonvolatile memory 103. The playlist isconstituted by table data or the like in which the file IDs of theplurality of moving images respectively represented by the plurality ofselected images are arranged in the playback order. The CPU 101 thenperforms timeline display so that the columns (groups) are arranged inaccordance with the playlist and plays back the plurality of movingimages in order. When a moving image of a new group is recorded in atake, for example, the CPU 101 updates the playlist and additionallydisplays a selected image representing the moving image of the new groupin the final position in the playback order. When a moving image of anexisting group is recorded in a retake, the CPU 101 additionallydisplays a thumbnail image of the recorded moving image as the selectedimage or an unselected image of the column corresponding to the group.When the thumbnail image of the recorded moving image is displayed asthe selected image, the playlist is updated.

Here, a case in which a direction heading from left to right along thetimeline 421 (the time axis) is set as the playback order in the stateshown in FIG. 4C will be considered. In FIG. 4C, a thumbnail image 423(the selected image) has been selected using the selection frame 422.Therefore, the thumbnail image 423 (the moving image of the thumbnailimage 423) is played back first, whereupon the plurality of selectedimages on the right side of the thumbnail image 423 are selected by theselection frame 422 and played back in order. In FIG. 4C, when playbackis started from the moving image represented by the thumbnail image 423,the other moving images in the same column 433 are not played back, andinstead, the moving image represented by a thumbnail image 426 displayedon the timeline 421, among the thumbnail images arranged in the nextcolumn 434, is played back. When there are no more selected images onthe right side of the selected image selected by the selection frame422, the selection frame 422 returns to the position of the thumbnailimage 423. Note that when playback is started in a state where therightmost selected image has been selected by the selection frame 422,only the moving image of the thumbnail image selected by the selectionframe 422 is played back, and the selection frame 422 does not move.

The description will now return to FIG. 6. In S607, the CPU 101determines whether or not a Touch-Down has been performed on the display105 (the touch panel 106 a). When it is determined that a Touch-Down hasbeen performed, the processing advances to S608, and when a Touch-Downhas not been performed, the processing advances to S619.

In S608, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the Touch-Down of S607was a touch operation performed on one of the thumbnail images. When itis determined that the Touch-Down was a touch operation performed on athumbnail image, the processing advances to S609, and when theTouch-Down was not a touch operation performed on a thumbnail image, theprocessing advances to S615.

In S609, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a Touch-Move has beenperformed on the display 105. When it is determined that a Touch-Movehas been performed, the processing advances to S701 of FIG. 7, and whena Touch-Move has not been performed, the processing advances to S610.FIG. 7 will be described below.

In S610, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a Touch-Up has beenperformed on the display 105. When it is determined that a Touch-Up hasbeen performed, the processing advances to S611, and when a Touch-Up hasnot been performed, the processing advances to S609. It is determined inS610 that a Touch-Up has been performed when the touch is releasedwithout performing a Touch-Move following the Touch-Down.

In S611, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a double tap has beenperformed on the display 105 (a thumbnail image). A touch operation inwhich the finger or pen touching the display 105 (the touch panel 106 a)is released from the display 105 within a predetermined time followingthe start of the touch without being moved is a tap, and a touchoperation in which a tap is performed twice within a brief time intervalis a double tap. When it is determined that a double tap has beenperformed, the processing advances to S612, and when a double tap hasnot been performed, the processing advances to S613. Note that since aTouch-Down is performed in S607 and a Touch-Up is performed in S610, itmay be said that a tap has been performed at least once at the point ofS611.

In S612, the CPU 101 plays back, in the playback order, the moving imageof the thumbnail image on which the double tap was performed, apredetermined number of seconds (5 seconds, for example) at the end ofthe moving image of the preceding selected image in the playback order,and a predetermined number of seconds at the start of the next selectedimage in the playback order, whereupon the processing returns to S601.Here, a case in which a direction heading from left to right along thetimeline 421 (the time axis) is set as the playback order and a doubletap has been performed on a thumbnail image 424 (an unselected image) inthe state shown in FIG. 4C will be considered. In this case, first, thepredetermined number of seconds at the end of the moving image of athumbnail image 425 on the timeline 421 in the column 432 one to theleft of the thumbnail image 424 is played back. Next, the entire lengthof the moving image of the thumbnail image 424 is played back. Finally,the predetermined number of seconds at the start of the moving image ofa thumbnail image 426 on the timeline 421 in the column 434 one to theright of the thumbnail image 424 is played back. Thus, when the userchanges the selected image of the column 433 to the thumbnail image 424(an unselected image), which is not currently on the timeline 421, theuser can check how the preceding and following moving images connectthereto and determine whether the connection is favorable. In otherwords, the user can be assisted in determining whether or not to changethe selected image to the thumbnail image 424.

In S613, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the Touch-Up determinedin S610 was a tap on the thumbnail image selected by the selection frame422. When it is determined that a tap has been performed on thethumbnail image selected by the selection frame 422, the processingadvances to S603, and when a tap has not been performed on the thumbnailimage selected by the selection frame 422, the processing advances toS614.

In S614, the CPU 101 moves the selection frame 422 to the position ofthe tapped thumbnail image, whereupon the processing returns to S601.

When the Touch-Down of S607 was not a touch operation performed on athumbnail image, the CPU 101 determines in S615 whether or not theTouch-Down of S607 was a touch operation performed in a blank space inthe timeline display area 420. A blank space is an area of the timelinedisplay area 420 in which no thumbnail image is displayed. When it isdetermined that the Touch-Down was a touch operation performed in ablank space, the processing advances to S616, and when the Touch-Downwas not a touch operation performed in a blank space, the processingadvances to S708 of FIG. 7. FIG. 7 will be described below.

In S616, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a Touch-Move has beenperformed on the display 105. When it is determined that a Touch-Movehas been performed, the processing advances to S617, and when aTouch-Move has not been performed, the processing advances to S618.

In S617, the CPU 101 scrolls the plurality of thumbnail images (thetimeline) either rightward or leftward along the time axis so as tofollow the movement of the touch position in the direction of the timeaxis (a left-right direction). As a result, a non-displayed column canbe displayed. Note that a scroll bar for moving the time axishorizontally may be displayed separately, and the processing of S617 maybe performed in response to an operation for touching and thenperforming a Touch-Move on the scroll bar.

In S618, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a Touch-Up has beenperformed on the display 105. When it is determined that a Touch-Up hasbeen performed, the processing advances to S601, and when a Touch-Up hasnot been performed, the processing advances to S616.

When a Touch-Down was not performed in S607, the CPU 101 determines inS619 whether or not the take key 404 or the retake key 405 has beenoperated. When it is determined that the take key 404 or the retake key405 has been operated, the processing advances to S620, and when thetake key 404 or the retake key 405 has not been operated, the processingadvances to S602.

In S620, the CPU 101 selects the group including the moving image of thethumbnail image selected by the selection frame 422 as a retake target,whereupon the processing advances to S501 of FIG. 5 (i.e., returns tothe moving image capture processing of FIG. 5). Accordingly, a movingimage of the same group as the moving image of the thumbnail imageselected by the selection frame 422 is captured in response to anoperation of the retake key 405. Thus, the user can issue an instructionto retake a moving image of a desired group by issuing an instruction tomove the selection frame 422. Note that during timeline displayfollowing image capture, the thumbnail image of the moving imagecaptured last is selected by the selection frame 422. If the selectionframe 422 is not moved, therefore, a moving image of the same group asthe moving image captured immediately before is captured in response toan operation of the retake key 405. For example, when the retake key 405is operated in a case where the selection frame 422 is displayed on athumbnail image in the column 433, as shown in FIG. 4C, the group of thecolumn 433 is selected as the retake target, whereupon the processingadvances to S501 of FIG. 5 (the moving image capture processing). Then,when the retake key 405 is operated during the moving image captureprocessing, capture/recording of a moving image belonging to the groupof the column 433 is started. As a result, when the timeline isdisplayed again thereafter, a thumbnail image is newly added to the tailend (the bottom) of the thumbnail images arranged in the column 433.Further, when the take key 404 is operated during moving image captureprocessing in which the group of the column 433 is set as the retaketarget, a new group is generated, and the moving image is captured as amoving image of the new group. The new group is added as either thegroup at the tail end of the timeline display or the group following thegroup of the selected retake target. In the example of FIG. 4C, when agroup is added to the tail end, a new column is displayed to the rightof the column 435, and a thumbnail image of the captured moving image isdisplayed. Alternatively, when a group following the group of theselected retake target is added, the new group is inserted between thecolumn 433 and the column 434, and a thumbnail image of the capturedmoving image is displayed.

FIG. 7 will now be described. In S701, the CPU 101 moves the thumbnailcolumn belonging to the group of the touched thumbnail image inaccordance with the Touch-Move performed in S609 of FIG. 6.

For example, when the thumbnail image 423 of FIG. 4C is touched and thetouch position is moved in an upward direction along the take axis, allof the thumbnail images (the selected image and the unselected images)in the column 433 in which the thumbnail image 423 is displayed move inan upward direction along the take axis. Thus, the moving imagedisplayed as the selected image of the column 433 can be changed. Forexample, the state of the timeline display can be switched from thestate shown in FIG. 4C to a state shown in FIG. 4D so that the thumbnailimage 423 becomes an unselected image and the thumbnail image 424becomes the selected image. Note that as long as it is possible toselect the moving image to be displayed as the selected image in thecolumn only from the plurality of moving images in the groupcorresponding to the column, there are no particular limitations on theselection method. With the method described above, the order in whichthe thumbnail images are arranged in the column can be maintained.

Further, when the touch position is moved along the time axis, all ofthe thumbnail images in the column of the touched thumbnail image, or inother words the same column as that of the touched thumbnail image, move(are dragged) along the time axis.

In S702, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a column has been draggedalong the time axis. When it is determined that a column has beendragged along the time axis, the processing advances to S703, and when acolumn has not been dragged along the time axis, the processing advancesto S704.

In S703, the CPU 101 shifts the other columns along the time axis sothat the dragged column is inserted into the position to which thecolumn has been dragged. More specifically, control for shifting all ofthe columns on the left side (the front side in the playback order) ofthe position to which the column has been dragged to the left sideand/or control for shifting all of the columns on the right side (therear side in the playback order) of the position to which the column hasbeen dragged to the right side is performed. In so doing, the pluralityof columns can be rearranged. In other words, the playback order of themoving images can be changed while maintaining the groups. As a result,it is possible for the user to change only the moving image displayed asthe selected image to another moving image in the same group even afterthe playback order is changed. The playback order can of course also bechanged after changing the moving image displayed as the selected image.Hence, in this embodiment, there is a high degree of freedom in theorder in which the moving image displayed as the selected image ischanged and the playback order is changed, leading to superioroperability. For example, when the thumbnail image 423 of FIG. 4C istouched and the touch position is dragged one interval forward (oneinterval leftward) along the time axis, a state shown in FIG. 4E isrealized.

In S704, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a column has been draggedto the end portion of the timeline display area 420 in the time axisdirection (a left-right direction). When it is determined that a columnhas been dragged to the end portion, the processing advances to S705,and when a column has not been dragged to the end portion, theprocessing advances to S706.

In S705, the CPU 101 scrolls the plurality of thumbnail images rightwardor leftward along the time axis successively as the amount of time thatthe drag position is positioned at the end portion increases so thatinvisible parts of the timeline on the side of the drag position arenewly displayed (so that the timeline moves in the opposite direction tothe end portion side of the drag position).

In S706, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a Touch-Up has beenperformed on the display 105. When it is determined that a Touch-Up hasbeen performed, the processing advances to S707, and when a Touch-Up hasnot been performed, the processing advances to S701.

In S707, the CPU 101 updates the playlist in accordance with the orderin which the plurality of selected images are arranged. For example,when a dragging operation along the time axis is started in the state ofFIG. 4C and a Touch-Up is performed in the state of FIG. 4E, the order(the playback order) in which the moving images are arranged on theplaylist is updated to the state shown in FIG. 4E. More specifically, todescribe the order using the thumbnail images corresponding to themoving images, the state in FIG. 4C, in which the thumbnail images 425,423, 426 are arranged in that order, is updated to the state shown inFIG. 4E, in which the thumbnail images 423, 425, 426 are arranged inthat order.

In S708, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a “write” instruction hasbeen issued by operating the menu button 406 or the like. When it isdetermined that a “write” instruction has been issued, the processingadvances to S709, and when a “write” instruction has not been issued,the processing advances to S710. In S709, the CPU 101 generates a singlemoving image file connecting the plurality of moving images (movingimage files) respectively represented by the plurality of selectedimages in an order corresponding to the playlist (the order in which theplurality of selected images are arranged) from the plurality of movingimages, and records the result in the recording medium 108 as a movingimage file of edited moving images. As a result, playback can beperformed from a single moving image file in a similar manner to whenthe plurality of moving images corresponding respectively to theplurality of selected images are played back in order but without usingthe playlist.

In S710, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a “play back from start”instruction has been issued by operating the menu button 406 or thelike. When it is determined that a “play back from start” instructionhas been issued, the processing advances to S711, and when a “play backfrom start” instruction has not been issued, the processing advances toS601 of FIG. 6. In S711, the CPU 101 plays back the plurality of movingimages (the moving image files) respectively represented by theplurality of selected images in an order corresponding to the playlist(the order in which the plurality of selected images are arranged).

Note that when the processing advances from S615 in FIG. 6 to S708 inFIG. 7, the user performs a single Touch-Up and then issues aninstruction such as “write” or “play back from start” by operating themenu button 406 or the like. It is assumed that in addition to theprocessing described above, an image in a specific column can also bedeleted from the timeline display (either the file can be deleted fromthe recording medium 108 or the file can be deleted from the playlistwhile still being held).

According to this embodiment, as described above, by using the take key404 and the retake key 405 appropriately, a moving image of a new groupcan be captured and a moving image of an existing group can be captured.Further, simply by operating the take key 404 and the retake key 405,both moving image capture and allocation of a group to the capturedmoving image can be performed simultaneously without performing anyother operations. Hence, there is no need for the user to determine thegroup to which to allocate the moving image following image capture, andas a result, moving image capture can be performed efficiently (theuser-friendliness of the electronic device 100 is improved). Morespecifically, when recapture (a retake) is determined to be necessarymidway through moving image capture, the retake can be performed quicklysimply by temporarily stopping moving image recording and operating theretake key 405, without the need for complicated operations. Moreover,even when the number of moving images captured in retakes becomes large,the moving images are managed as moving images of the same group, andtherefore, even when a large number of moving image files are recorded,it is easy to determine subsequently the moving image files that wereacquired as retakes of the same scene, with the result that an editingoperation can be performed without confusion. Furthermore, even when aretake is performed, the moving image captured prior thereto is held inthe same group without being overwritten or deleted, and therefore, whenit is subsequently determined that the moving image prior to the retakewas better after all, an edit using the moving image prior to the retakecan be created.

Further, according to this embodiment, only the thumbnail image (theselected image) representing one of the moving images included in onegroup is displayed in each section of the timeline 421. Therefore, whena plurality of moving images are played back in order, it is possible toplay back only a plurality of moving images in different groups ratherthan playing back a plurality of moving images in the same group.Further, the thumbnail images (the unselected images) representing themoving images other than the moving image of the selected image, amongthe plurality of moving images, are displayed in the same column inassociation with the section in which the selected image is displayed.Therefore, the user can easily ascertain the correspondencerelationships between the groups and the moving images. As a result, theuser can easily perform timeline editing such as selecting, moving,switching, adding, and deleting the thumbnail images so that a pluralityof desired moving images are played back in the desired order. Similareffects are acquired likewise in a case where a single moving image fileconstituted by a plurality of moving images is generated.

Note that an example using moving images as content was described above,but the content is not limited to moving images. Sound, static images,and so on, for example, may also be used as content. In the example ofsound, as a result of the processing of this embodiment, sounds can bemanaged in units of songs, phrases, or bars, and timeline editing forplaying back a plurality of desired songs in a desired order can beperformed easily. In the example of static images, effects such asfacilitating timeline editing for performing a slideshow in which aplurality of desired static images are displayed while being switched ina desired order are realized.

Note that an example in which the take key 404 and the retake key 405are enabled at all times in the image capture standby state wasdescribed above, but the take key 404 and the retake key 405 may beswitched between enabled and disabled states. For example, the CPU 101may enable the retake key 405 when a predetermined recording mode forrecording moving images is set and disable (display in a grayed-out formor not display) the retake key 405 when the predetermined recording modeis not set. The predetermined recording mode is a self-photography modein which the photographer records a moving image of him/herself or thelike. When the content is sound, the predetermined recording mode is amode for recording the voice of the operator of the electronic device100 or the like.

The CPU 101 disables the retake key 405 when, for example, an out-camerafor capturing the opposite side to the photographer side as seen fromthe electronic device 100 (the opposite side to the display surface ofthe display 105) is activated. The CPU 101 then displays the retake key405 in an enabled state when the camera used for image capture isswitched from the out-camera to an in-camera (camera unit 112). Further,when the camera used for image capture is switched from the in-camera tothe out-camera, the CPU 101 disables the retake key 405. When the cameraunit 112 is provided in a vari-angle unit that enables modification ofthe image capture direction and the camera unit 112 is oriented towardthe photographer side (when a direction oriented toward the photographeris the image capture direction), the CPU 101 displays the retake key 405in an enabled state. When the camera unit 112 is oriented toward theopposite side to the photographer side (when a direction oriented awayfrom the photographer is the image capture direction), on the otherhand, the CPU 101 disables the retake key 405.

Self-photography is often performed by users who publish originallycreated moving image content or the like on the Internet, such as userswho in recent years post large numbers of moving images on moving imagesharing websites. In self-photography, if the user is dissatisfied witha captured moving image, he/she can perform self-photography as manytimes as he/she wishes, and therefore self-photography is more likely tobe performed repeatedly than image capture in which another person isused as the object. Hence, the function of this embodiment of “capturinga moving image of the same group as that of the moving image capturedimmediately prior thereto in response to depression of the retake key405” may be said to be particularly useful in self-photography. Further,by disabling the retake key 405 during image capture other thanself-photography, complexity and troublesomeness can be prevented in theoperations of the apparatus as a whole. Furthermore, the possibilitythat during image capture in which another person is used as the object,more time than necessary will be required of the other person tocomplete image capture due to repeated retakes can be reduced.

Note that an example in which the retake key 405 is displayed on theimage capture standby screen of FIG. 4A as an enabled touch key from thestart was described above, but this does not have to be the case. Atfirst (immediately after the moving image capture processing of FIG. 5starts; immediately after the moving image capture mode is set), theretake key 405 may be disabled and the take key 404 may be displayed inan enabled state. Then, immediately after a moving image file of a newgroup has been created through the file closing processing of S506(immediately after recording of a moving image of a new group isstopped), the retake key 405 may be displayed in an enabled state(grayed-out display or non-display may be canceled). Typically, theimage capture that is performed immediately after activation of theimage capture application is often a so-called first take, or in otherwords a first image capture operation rather than a recapture operation.Therefore, by disabling the retake key 405, user confusion about theoperation method and erroneous operations can be suppressed.Furthermore, the retake key 405 may be displayed in an enabled state andthe take key 404 may be disabled up to the point at which apredetermined time (10 seconds, for example) elapses after recording ofthe moving image is stopped. Then, immediately after the predeterminedtime elapses, either the take key 404 and the retake key 405 may both bedisplayed in an enabled state, or the take key 404 may be displayed inan enabled state and the retake key 405 may be disabled. When the nextmoving image capture operation is started immediately after moving imagecapture, the next moving image capture operation is often a retake of animmediately preceding failed image capture operation rather than imagecapture of a new scene. Therefore, by disabling the take key 404immediate after a moving image capture operation, user confusion aboutthe operation method and erroneous operations can be suppressed. Byswitching between these enabled/disabled states, moving image capturecan be advanced even more efficiently. Note that it is also possible toswitch between these enabled/disabled states during self-photography.

Immediately after a moving image is played back, the CPU 101 may capturea moving image of the same group as the played back moving image inresponse to an operation of the retake key 405. More specifically, whena moving image is played back, the CPU 101 may set the moving image fileof the played-back moving image as a retake target file. Typically, animage capture operation performed by operating the retake key 405immediately after a moving image is played back is often performed torecapture the played-back moving image. Hence, by capturing a movingimage of the same group as the played-back moving image, group-forming(grouping) of the moving images can be performed more favorably.

The CPU 101 may change the current type of image capture (take/retake)in response to an operation of the take key 404 or the retake key 405during moving image capture (during recording). For example, when thetake key 404 is operated while recording a moving image of the samegroup as the moving image recorded immediately prior thereto (i.e.,during a retake), the CPU 101 performs modified control so that themoving image being recorded is recorded as a moving image of a new group(i.e., a moving image of a take). In other words, the group ID recordedas the attribute information of the moving image file being recorded isoverwritten from the group ID of the retake target to a new group ID.Meanwhile, when the retake key 405 is operated while recording a movingimage of a new group (i.e., during a take), the CPU 101 performsmodified control so that the moving image being recorded is recorded asa moving image of the same group as the moving image recordedimmediately prior thereto (i.e., a moving image of a retake). In otherwords, the new group ID recorded as the attribute information of themoving image file being recorded is overwritten by the group ID of theretake target. In a configuration where this control is not performed,when a user who wishes to perform a take issues an image captureinstruction using the retake key 405, a retake is performed against theintentions of the user, and when a user who wishes to perform a retakeissues an image capture instruction using the take key 404, a take isperformed against the intentions of the user. By employing the controlconfiguration described above, however, the user can modify the currenttype of image capture to the desired type of image capture by operatingthe take key 404 or the retake key 405 during image capture. Moreover,by aligning the type of the touch key with the modified type of imagecapture, operations can be made easier to understand.

The CPU 101 may stop moving image capture in response to an operation ofeither the take key 404 or the retake key 405 during moving imagecapture. By making it possible to issue an instruction to stop movingimage capture using either the take key 404 or the retake key 405, userconfusion about the operation method can be suppressed, and the user canmore easily stop moving image capture at a desired timing.

Furthermore, the CPU 101 may align the touch key used to stop movingimage capture with the type of moving image capture. More specifically,while capturing a moving image of the same group as the moving imagecaptured immediately prior thereto, or in other words during a retake,moving image capture is stopped in response to an operation of theretake key 405 but not stopped in response to an operation of the takekey 404. Further, w % bile capturing a moving image of a new group, orin other words during a take, moving image capture is stopped inresponse to an operation of the take key 404 but not stopped in responseto an operation of the retake key 405. By aligning the touch key used tostop moving image capture with the type of moving image capture,operational consistency can be improved and erroneous operations can bereduced.

The CPU 101 may delete the moving image currently being recorded whenthe take key 404 is operated during a retake and when the retake key 405is operated during a take. With this configuration, when the usernotices an image capture mistake during image capture, for example, theuser operates the take key 404 or the retake key 405 to delete (notrecord) the moving image in which the image capture mistake was made. Asa result, a moving image in which an image capture mistake was made canbe deleted quickly, and recording of unnecessary moving images can beavoided. Furthermore, the CPU 101 may attach predetermined metadata tothe moving image being recorded when the take key 404 is operated duringa retake and when the retake key 405 is operated during a take. In thiscase, the CPU 101 may display a predetermined display item on thetimeline display in association with the thumbnail image of the movingimage to which the predetermined metadata are attached. Thus, the usercan easily distinguish between a moving image in which an image capturemistake was made and other moving images, and as a result, timelineediting can be performed more easily.

The CPU 101 may display a display indicating the number of moving imagesin the same group as the moving image recorded immediately before on thedisplay 105 when a retake is started (display control). The “number ofmoving images in the same group as the moving image recorded immediatelybefore” may be a number including the moving image recorded during thecurrent retake or a number not including that moving image. For example,the CPU 101 displays the number of moving images recorded in takes, thenumber of the take for which the current retake is being performed, orthe like. Thus, the user can easily determine whether a sufficientnumber of image capture operations have been performed for one scene andso on, and as a result, an improvement in user-friendliness is achieved.

The CPU 101 may attach a rating (a degree of importance) to a capturedmoving image in response to an operation in the touchpad area 402 (anoperating unit for changing the AF position) after moving image captureis stopped. In this case, the CPU 101 may display a display itemcorresponding to the rating on the timeline display in association withthe thumbnail image. Thus, the user can easily distinguish betweenmoving images of high importance and moving images of low importance,and as a result, timeline editing can be performed more easily.

The CPU 101 may notify the user of whether a take or a retake isunderway (notification control). Either a display item enablingrecognition of whether a take or a retake is underway may be displayedon the display 105, or notification of whether a take or a retake isunderway may be provided by another method (the illumination color of alamp, lamp illumination/flashing, sound output, and so on). Thus, theuser can easily ascertain the current type of image capture. As aresult, when image capture of the wrong type is underway, for example,the user can immediately realize the error in the type of image capture,interrupt the current image capture operation, and quickly start anoperation for performing the desired type of image capture.

As long as the unselected images are displayed in association with eachsection of the timeline 421, there are no particular limitations on thedisplay method of the unselected images. For example, the screendisplaying the unselected images may be different from the screendisplaying the selected images. Note, however, that in consideration ofthe ease of viewing the timeline display, the unselected images and theselected images are preferably displayed on the same screen, as shown inFIG. 4B. Further, as long as the take axis is different to the timeaxis, the take axis does not have to be perpendicular to the time axis.For example, the take axis may be a rectilinear axis that is diagonal tothe time axis or an arc-shaped axis. FIG. 8A shows an example in whichthe take axis is a rectilinear axis that is diagonal to the time axis,and FIG. 8B shows an example in which the take axis is an arc-shapedaxis. Likewise in FIGS. 8A and 8B, similarly to FIG. 4C, the take axiscan be differentiated from the time axis. Hence, the user can easilydistinguish the selected images from the unselected images anddifferentiate clearly between an operation for changing the moving imagedisplayed as the selected image and an operation for changing theplayback order of the moving images.

The CPU 101 may play back the moving image represented by the selectedimage of a section and the moving images represented by the unselectedimages (the images in the same column) of the group corresponding to thesection so that the user can compare the moving images. For example,when an unselected image 901 is selected by the selection frame 422, ason the editing screen shown in FIG. 9A, the CPU 101 may display a“Compare” option (item) 902 either automatically or in response to auser operation. Then, when the user selects (specifies) the option 902,the CPU 101 may switch the display screen to a comparative playbackscreen shown in FIG. 9B and play back the moving image of the unselectedimage 901 and the moving image of a selected image 903 in the section ofthe timeline that is in the same column as the unselected image 901 sothat the respective moving images are displayed side by side. In otherwords, the two moving images may be played back in two adjacent areas ofthe same screen. Playback of the two moving images may be started at thesame timing or not at the same timing. The two moving images are movingimages in the same group, captured in different image capture operationsof the same scene. With this configuration, therefore, the user caneasily select a more favorable moving image for each scene.

When a “Playback” option is selected, the moving image of the unselectedimage 901 selected by the selection frame 422 is played back.Thereafter, the moving image following the played-back moving image(i.e., the moving image of the selected image) may be, but does not haveto be, played back in order. When an “Output” option is selected, themoving image file of the unselected image 901 selected by the selectionframe 422 is output to the outside.

Note that during live view display, as shown in FIG. 4C and so on, allof the unselected images of the displayed columns (groups) aredisplayed, but instead, only some of the unselected images may bedisplayed. For example, the unselected images of the group (the column)of a selected image specified in response to a user operation, such as aselected image selected by the selection frame 422, a touched selectedimage, or the like may be displayed while not displaying the unselectedimages of the other groups (the other columns).

Note that the various types of control described above as beingperformed by the CPU 101 may be performed by a single piece of hardware,or overall control of the apparatus may be performed by apportioning theprocessing to a plurality of pieces of hardware (a plurality ofprocessors or circuits, for example).

Further, the present invention was described in detail above on thebasis of preferred embodiments thereof, but the present invention is notlimited to these specific embodiments and includes various aspectswithin a scope that does not depart from the spirit of the invention.Moreover, each of the embodiments described above merely illustrates asingle embodiment of the present invention, and the embodiments may becombined as appropriate.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, cases in which the presentinvention is applied to a smartphone or a digital camera were describedas examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examplesand may be applied to any electronic device that is capable ofcontrolling the recording and display of content. For example, thepresent invention can be applied to a personal computer or a PDA, aportable telephone terminal or a portable image viewer, a printerapparatus, a digital photo frame, a music player, a game machine, anelectronic book reader, a video player, and so on. The present inventionmay also be applied to a television apparatus, a projection apparatus, atablet terminal, an AI speaker, a household appliance, an in-vehicleapparatus, a medical instrument, and so on.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to an image captureapparatus main body and may also be applied to a control apparatus thatcommunicates with an image capture apparatus (including a networkcamera) by wired or wireless communication in order to control the imagecapture apparatus remotely. Apparatuses such as smartphones, tablet PCs,and desktop PCs may be cited as examples of an apparatus for remotelycontrolling an image capture apparatus. By transmitting commands toperform various operations and settings from the control apparatus sideto the image capture apparatus on the basis of operations performed onthe control apparatus side and processing performed on the controlapparatus side, the image capture apparatus can be controlled remotely.Moreover, a live view image captured by the image capture apparatus maybe received by wired or wireless communication and displayed on thecontrol apparatus side.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to record aplurality of content so that the content is managed favorably, and todisplay images representing the content favorably so thatuser-friendliness is improved.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described aboveand may be subjected to various modifications and amendments withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof. Accordingly, the followingclaims are attached in order to make the scope of the present inventionpublic.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

1. An electronic device comprising at least one memory and at least oneprocessor which function as: a recording control unit configured toperform control to start recording content including at least one of amoving image and sound in response to an operation of a first operatingmember or a second operating member; and a control unit configured toperform control to: record the content as content of a new group thatdiffers from a group of content recorded immediately prior thereto in acase where recording of the content is started in response to receipt ofan operation of the first operating member; and record the content ascontent of the same group as the content recorded immediately priorthereto in a case where recording of the content is started in responseto receipt of an operation of the second operating member.
 2. Theelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unitperforms control so as to realize at least one of: recording informationindicating the group of the content as attribute information of thecontent; recording information that indicates a correspondencerelationship between the content and the group and is independent of thecontent; and recording the content in a separate folder for each group.3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, in a case wherea predetermined recording mode for recording the content is set, thesecond operating member is enabled, and in a case where thepredetermined recording mode is not set, the second operating member isdisabled.
 4. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein thepredetermined recording mode is a mode for recording a moving image ofan operator him/herself or a mode for recording voice of the operatorhim/herself.
 5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein,immediately after a recording mode for recording the content is set, thefirst operating member is enabled and the second operating member isdisabled, and immediately after recording of the content is stopped, thefirst operating member is disabled and the second operating member isenabled.
 6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein thefirst operating member and the second operating member are disposedfurther away than a display area in which display relating to recordingof the content is performed, as seen from an acquisition portion forperforming at least one of image capture of the moving image and inputof the sound.
 7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein anoperating member for changing an AF position is disposed in a positionenabling operation thereof by a finger used to operate the firstoperating member and the second operating member.
 8. The electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the first operating member and thesecond operating member are disposed in positions that can be reached bya finger of a hand holding a grip portion of the electronic device. 9.The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the at least onememory and the at least one processor further function as a playbackunit configured to play back content in response to a user operation,and immediately after content is played back by the playback unit, in acase where recording of content is started in response to receipt of anoperation of the second operating member, the control unit performscontrol to record the content to be recorded as content of the samegroup as the content played back immediately prior thereto.
 10. Theelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where anoperation is performed on the first operating member while content ofthe same group as the content recorded immediately prior thereto isbeing recorded, the control unit performs modified control so that thecontent being recorded is recorded as content of a new group, and in acase where an operation is performed on the second operating memberwhile content of a new group is being recorded, the control unitperforms modified control so that the content being recorded is recordedas content of the same group as the content recorded immediately priorthereto.
 11. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein therecording control unit performs control to stop recording of the contentin response to an operation of the first operating member or the secondoperating member during recording of the content.
 12. The electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the recording control unit performscontrol so that while content of the same group as the content recordedimmediately prior thereto is being recorded, recording of the content isnot stopped in response to an operation of the first operating memberand recording of the content is stopped in response to an operation ofthe second operating member, and while content of a new group is beingrecorded, recording of the content is not stopped in response to anoperation of the second operating member and recording of the content isstopped in response to an operation of the first operating member. 13.The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where anoperation is performed on the first operating member while content ofthe same group as the content recorded immediately prior thereto isbeing recorded and in a case where an operation is performed on thesecond operating member while content of a new group is being recorded,the control unit performs control to delete the content being recorded.14. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the at least onememory and the at least one processor further function as a displaycontrol unit configured to perform control so that in a case whererecording of content of the same group as the content recordedimmediately prior thereto is started, a display indicating a number ofpieces of content belonging to the same group as the content recordedimmediately before is performed.
 15. The electronic device according toclaim 1, wherein, after recording of the content is stopped, the controlunit performs control to attach a rating to the content in response toan operation of an operating member for changing the AF position. 16.The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the at least onememory and the at least one processor further function as a notificationcontrol unit configured to perform control to notify a user of whethercontent of a new group is being recorded or content of the same group asthe content recorded immediately prior thereto is being recorded.
 17. Anelectronic device comprising at least one memory and at least oneprocessor which function as: a display control unit configured toperform control to display a selected image representing one piece ofcontent included in a corresponding group in each section of a timelineon which a plurality of sections corresponding respectively to aplurality of groups are displayed side by side along a first axis, anddisplay an unselected image representing content other than the contentof the selected image, among a plurality of pieces of content includedin the group corresponding to the section, in association with thesection; a selecting unit configured to select the content to bedisplayed in the section as the selected image from the plurality ofpieces of content included in the group corresponding to the section inresponse to a user operation; and a playback unit configured to playback a plurality of pieces of content respectively represented by aplurality of selected images arranged side by side along the first axisin an order in which the plurality of selected images are arranged. 18.The electronic device according to claim 17, wherein the display controlunit performs control in response to a user operation to rearrange anddisplay a plurality of image sequences including selected images andunselected images that correspond respectively to a plurality of groupsand represent the content included in the corresponding groups.
 19. Theelectronic device according to claim 17, wherein the at least one memoryand the at least one processor further function as a generating unitconfigured to generate, from the plurality of pieces of contentrespectively represented by the plurality of selected images arrangedside by side along the first axis, a single file in which the pluralityof pieces of content are connected in the order thereof.
 20. Theelectronic device according to claim 17, wherein the display controlunit performs control to display unselected images along a second axisthat differs from the first axis.
 21. The electronic device according toclaim 20, wherein the second axis is a perpendicular axis to the firstaxis, a rectilinear axis that is diagonal to the first axis, or anarc-shaped axis.
 22. The electronic device according to claim 20,wherein the display control unit performs control to arrange and displaythe selected image and the unselected image representing the pluralityof pieces of content included in the same group in the order in whichthe plurality of pieces of content are recorded.
 23. The electronicdevice according to claim 22, wherein, in response to a user operationfor changing the content displayed as the selected image of a section,the display control unit performs control to move the selected image andthe unselected image included in the group corresponding to the sectionalong the second axis.
 24. The electronic device according to claim 17,wherein the display control unit performs control to display theselected image and the unselected image on the same screen.
 25. Theelectronic device according to claim 17, wherein the content of theplurality of groups is acquired by recording content of a new group inresponse to an operation of a first operating member and recordingcontent of an existing group in response to an operation of a secondoperating member.
 26. The electronic device according to claim 17,wherein the display control unit performs control to display thetimeline following recording of the content and not to display thetimeline during recording of the content.
 27. The electronic deviceaccording to claim 17, wherein the playback unit plays back the contentrepresented by the selected image of a section and the contentrepresented by an unselected image belonging to the group correspondingto the section in a plurality of areas adjacent to each other on thesame screen.
 28. A control method of an electronic device, comprising:performing control to start recording content including at least one ofa moving image and sound in response to an operation of a firstoperating member or a second operating member; and performing controlto: record the content as content of a new group that differs from agroup of content recorded immediately prior thereto in a case whererecording of the content is started in response to receipt of anoperation of the first operating member; and record the content ascontent of the same group as the content recorded immediately priorthereto in a case where recording of the content is started in responseto receipt of an operation of the second operating member.
 29. A controlmethod of an electronic device, comprising: performing control todisplay a selected image representing one piece of content included in acorresponding group in each section of a timeline on which a pluralityof sections corresponding respectively to a plurality of groups aredisplayed side by side along a first axis, and display an unselectedimage representing content other than the content of the selected image,among a plurality of pieces of content included in the groupcorresponding to the section, in association with the section, selectingthe content to be displayed in the section as the selected image fromthe plurality of pieces of content included in the group correspondingto the section in response to a user operation; and playing back aplurality of pieces of content respectively represented by a pluralityof selected images arranged side by side along the first axis in anorder in which the plurality of selected images are arranged.
 30. Anon-transitory computer readable medium that stores a program, whereinthe program causes a computer to execute a control method of anelectronic device, comprising: performing control to start recordingcontent including at least one of a moving image and sound in responseto an operation of a first operating member or a second operatingmember; and performing control to: record the content as content of anew group that differs from a group of content recorded immediatelyprior thereto in a case where recording of the content is started inresponse to receipt of an operation of the first operating member; andrecord the content as content of the same group as the content recordedimmediately prior thereto in a case where recording of the content isstarted in response to receipt of an operation of the second operatingmember.
 31. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores aprogram, wherein the program causes a computer to execute a controlmethod of an electronic device, comprising: performing control todisplay a selected image representing one piece of content included in acorresponding group in each section of a timeline on which a pluralityof sections corresponding respectively to a plurality of groups aredisplayed side by side along a first axis, and display an unselectedimage representing content other than the content of the selected image,among a plurality of pieces of content included in the groupcorresponding to the section, in association with the section; selectingthe content to be displayed in the section as the selected image fromthe plurality of pieces of content included in the group correspondingto the section in response to a user operation; and playing back aplurality of pieces of content respectively represented by a pluralityof selected images arranged side by side along the first axis in anorder in which the plurality of selected images are arranged.